Mornings & Second Chances
by LoriDeux
Summary: "Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream." / Because it all just comes down to the choices we make.


_**Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable**_

_**You twist to fit the mold that I am in**_

-.-.-.-

"_I like to think so," Ryder nods, smiling as he watches Avery lean her head on her brother's shoulder. "God knows she and my kids make my life."_

"_That's all anyone can really ask for."_

_The music stops, and Beck hears as the applause spreads throughout the room, signaling the end of the couple's dance. Quietly, he slips out of the room and doesn't stop to look back. A new emotion washes over his body, and for once, he feels like he can breathe again. _

_He knows he's going to be okay, because she's happy. _

_And somehow, that's enough to give him peace._

-.-

No.

No.

No.

Something is blocking his airway, pressing down on his chest and every breath he manages to steal feels like razorblades scratching against his lungs. His body feels hot and heavy and his hair is sweat-slicked against his forehead. Shivers run down his spine and a trail of never-ending goosebumps covers his skin.

And despite the fact that he feels like death is looming over him, all he can think about is how he _can't_ let her go.

He doesn't give a damn if he has to go back and pull her out of that damn-perfect mansion she lives in and stuff her and her kids inside his car, driving off until he can _finally_ make her see some reason.

Okay, so he wouldn't kidnap her, but he has to at least try to speak to her again: tell her how sorry he is and how he just wants her back and how they can all still be happy together if she would only just give him another chance. He wants admit to her that he was a coward and an asshole but that he's changed and that he knows that deep down she still loves him like he loves her.

_Wake up… _

But he can't move. His limbs feel heavy and he can't get his arms or legs to respond to the basic commands his brain is sending them. He tries to lift his head, but the nerves at the base of his neck feel tight and strained and he thinks they might tear if he adds more pressure.

_Wake up…_

That voice: soft and demanding, the ultimate contradiction that was so unique to its owner. It'd always reminded him of the breeze that would pick up right before a heavy storm; dangerous and foreboding, but inexplicably peaceful at the same time. Cleansing.

_Wake up…_

It's getting louder now, changing from a whisper to a firmer tone. Not a demand, but a plea.

"Wake up."

His eyes snap open for a brief second and there _she_ is.

God, he really must be dying.

-.-

The next time he opens his eyes she's still there, sitting on the chair besides him with tears in her now-swollen eyes. Her usually impeccable hair is pulled back into a messy ponytail, and there are no traces of makeup on her porcelain face. She looks pale and exhausted and he wonders how long she's been sitting next to him, and most importantly, _why_.

The first thing he notices is the white walls around him.

The scent of sterilizer attacks his sensitive nose, burning at his nostrils and making him want to cough. His mouth feels dry and his throat is hoarse, so he's willing to bet he's been asleep for more than a couple of hours. The beeping noise from the monitor hooked up to his arm and his left hand irritates him beyond understanding, and when he tries to lean up into a sitting position, his ribs feel like they're on fire and tearing him apart from the inside-out.

_Yep_, he thinks; _definitely broken_.

"How are you feeling?"

Her voice breaks him out of his musings and he angles his head so he can look at her while using the least amount of movements possible. He feels odd and disoriented and he thinks that maybe he hit his head, too, because he could swear that there are streaks of blue and green in her dark hair.

"I'm not sure," he answers sincerely, wincing as his chapped lips crack under the stress. "What happened?"

She shifts her gaze so that it settles on lamp besides his bed. "You were in a car accident. A drunk driver lost control on the highway and hit your car."

"Oh," he murmurs, perplexed, and then he remembers where he was before his apparent crash. "I hope I didn't ruin Tori's wedding."

She blinks. "The wedding…?" she trails off, but he misses the confused look on her face.

"Yeah, tell her I'm sorry when you see her again."

"But-."

She starts getting blurry then, and Beck knows he has to hurry before his mind blacks out and he loses the battle to sleep again.

"Stay with me," he interrupts her bluntly, using every ounce of strength he has left to push himself up so he can make a grab for her hands.

He's not sure why she's even here to begin with, and a panic fills him until all he can think about is that he just _has_ to make her understand before he falls back asleep and she has a chance to run back to Ryder. "You and Avery and Matthew can come with me and we'll be happy somewhere else," he rasps out, inhaling harshly when the pain in his ribs triples and the monitor begins to beep wildly because of the extra stress in his body.

Jade narrows her eyes as her lips part open in shock. "Beck," she begins, scrunching her eyebrows together and grabbing onto his arm to gently push him onto his back. "What are you talking about? Go where with who? Just relax and stop moving."

He wants to tell her to stop messing around and listen to him, but it's too late and everything goes dark just as he sees a doctor accompanied by two nurses walk in.

-.-

"You look better today."

He looks up, carefully turning his head towards the door and watching her every move as she settles into a chair that's maybe three feet away from him. He was changed to a different room while he was out cold, and beige walls now surround him. He finds it odd that what was meant to provide him comfort only seems to make him feel colder. Or, it may just be that the girl in front of him seemed so detached and void.

"I think I'm pretty dozed up on pain killers," he admits, attempting a smile and dropping all pretenses when he watches her pretty lips fall into a frown. "What's wrong?"

Her eyes drop to the floor momentarily, and then their back on him, scrutinizing his for any fallacy of truth. "What do you last remember, before waking up here?"

Odd.

"I told you," he repeats. "Tori's wedding. We were all at your house and you sang their song and Avery made me take care of her dolls."

"Who's Avery?"

"Your little girl, and you have a son named Matthew."

"Anything else?"

He groans. "Jade, what is this about? Why are you asking me all these things if you were there, too?"

She nods and takes a deep breath, pausing to try to figure out a simple or adequate way to speak to him. "The doctor said that sometimes the impact of a hit can cause confusion," she begins. "When you're asleep for so long, the mind can take it up on itself to play games to help us deal with our subconscious."

"What are you talking about?"

She stops. "Tori isn't married, Beck."

"Of course she is," he contradicts, narrowing his eyes at her as if that could somehow force her to say the truth. "She's married to Andre."

"Tori's in New York and Andre is studying music in Austin, Beck," she reminds him. "We haven't seen either of them since they came home for Christmas Break last year."

"That's impossible. We were with them yesterday," he replies, feeling the irritation crawling under his skin. "We were in your damn house with Ryder and -."

"With who?" she interrupts him, raising her eyebrows until they almost hit the top of her head. "I'm married to whom?"

"Ryder," he snaps out, and he can swear that simply mentioning the word can scald his tongue and leave a bitter aftertaste.

"Beck, I don't have any children," she states, lifting her body off the chair so she can stand beside him and place a hand on his forearm and squeezing it in exasperation. "And I'm not with him. God, in what world do you honestly believe I would marry and have kids with Ryder Daniels?"

"But you," he begins, flustered and more confused than ever. "What the hell is going on?"

Jade takes a step away from him. "I told you, you were in a car accident," she reminds him, chocking on the words. "You were out for almost two weeks. We didn't know if you would be okay._ I_ didn't know if you would even wake up."

He freezes, and his mind struggles to catch up with this reality. "Two weeks?"

"Two weeks," she emphasized. "Do you know how horrible that feels, Beck? To get a phone call out of nowhere telling you come to the hospital because you might be losing somebody you love? Honestly, I didn't even know you were still in Los Angeles."

"That doesn't make any sense," he argues, forcing himself to relax his breathing when the muscles around his abdomen begin to ache. "If you aren't with Ryder, why wouldn't you know where I was?"

Jade widens her eyes, and the way she looks at him is enough to make him feel like if he'd just slapped her across the face and then laughed at her.

"Because you left me," she informs him, her eyes watering as she bites down on her lip to stop the tears from flowing. "You left me to go to New York and be a star."

And then he remembers.

He remembers meeting with an agent who offered him the deal of a lifetime if he would only follow her every instruction. He remembers feeling empty and unfulfilled and being seduced by the idea of stardom and celebrity and of being _someone_. He remembers having to tell her he was leaving, just as much as he remembers being weak and sleeping with her because he was too selfish to deny himself a last goodbye.

He remembers her tears hitting his cheeks as he kissed her and her body shivering with sorrow and pleasure.

Beck remembers spending the night after drowning himself in a bottle of Jack Daniels, and he remembers smashing half his belonging as he packed his bags when he was sober. He remembers stuffing an album of pictures of them together into his suitcase, just as much as he remembers hating himself because he'd turned them into just another memory.

And he remembers the loud horn from the truck and the blinding lights that had flashed across his sight for two seconds before it all went dark.

He remembered everything, and unfortunately, so did _she_.

-.-.-.-

**AN: So, this isn't done. **

**I seem to have forgotten how to write over my break. Anyways, this is an alternate ending for Sometime Around Midnight. I'll post the other half soon!**

**I would like to take this moment to thank Lauren for listening to all my crazy plotlines, and Mary for very subtly pointing out that I haven't published anything in a while because LAZY. Ha!**

**Don't forget to review if you want the last part!**

**-Lori **


End file.
